"Warts and All"

June 2007
Mrs F from Cork
Had a great time in Budapest, in spite of language difficulties. Had a good meal in the Central market, sitting down, not standing up! Also at terrific Vegetarian restaurant, and several others. The thermal baths, Turkish baths and all the pools on Margaret island were wonderful and cheap; we went to lots of them. Flea market interesting, worth a visit but very expensive unless you haggle a lot! Millennium concert hall was marvellous, great auditoriums, shop, coffee bar, restaurant, but language confusion resulted in them selling us tickets for the wrong night. Warning: if a Hungarian tells you he/she speaks a little English, it’s true! Only a few can speak/understand enough to communicate reliably!

We had trouble with metro inspectors on first morning because we expected to find the ticket validation machines in the metro carriage, like the buses, and did not see them on the platform. We offered them the unvalidated tickets, but they demanded 5000 HUF fine and would not listen to reason. We said we had just arrived, didn’t see the machines (they were hidden in crowds of people), couldn’t pay because we were on our way to exchange money, told them to call police if they wanted. Waited 10 minutes, no police, so I just gave them my card, we said goodbye and walked off. No repercussions so far!! That was the only time we were ever approached about tickets. But one poor Englishman behind us just paid up obediently.

Later we were told by a Hungarian that those inspectors have no power to insist on the fine, they are just there to frighten you! The next day I found out that all public transport is free for pensioners; all you have to do is show your passport or something if requested, to confirm your age. It seems to be a closely guarded secret, but it’s something you might like to confirm and to tell your other clients.

We travelled on buses, trams and metro all the time, my daughter with the ticket that she carefully validated after that first horrible experience, and I with my passport and a bit of paper saying "NYUGDIJAS VAGYOK", but we only ever saw about 5 people putting their cards in the machines! Another stupid thing happened on the last night, when we ran out of tickets for the tram home, the flower-sellers didn’t have any tickets and my poor daughter had to walk halfway across the city to the Metro station to buy a tram ticket!! All part of the Budapest Experience!

We both enjoyed our trip and would like to go back to Budapest, especially now that we’ve found out how to do it!

SUE'S COMMENT: I recommend the 3 or 7-day travel card which you can purchase from all metro stations; good value and no need to validate. From all main metro stations. Note - free travel is for the over 65s and you must carry your passport or identity card otherwise you will be fined.